I laughed out loud at the comment sent into the farm indicating that a sign that says “resist white supremacy” is not “inclusive.”

Yeah, no ****. The reason the country is in such a ****ty state is that white supremacists think that they have a right to be “included.” Want to be included—try not being a white supremacist. It’s actually pretty easy.

The idiots who think that such a sign is “anti-white people” are just that, and remind me of the people who think that comments about ending toxic masculinity are somehow “anti-men.”

Idiots who think such a sign is “anti-police” just owned that many if not most police departments still have racist practices in place, so...congratulations.

In December, GQ magazine named former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick “Citizen of the Year.” The player-turned-philanthropist — who started an NFL movement when he took a knee in September 2016 during the pregame National Anthem to protest police violence against the African American community — is pictured on the cover, staring into the camera, his Afro occupying much of the frame. The lapels on his black blazer came to sharp peaks. His black turtleneck was accented with a gold chain and pendant.

Inside the magazine, Kaepernick swapped the cloth blazer for a leather one, driving home the comparison to the Black Panther Party even more powerfully. From his natural hairstyle to the leather blazer (and in the Panther logo T-shirts he’s worn in public), the black power iconography was unmistakable.

The cover image symbolically united two eras of activism — especially for Bay Area residents old enough to remember the 1960s and ’70s.

The Black Panther Party was formed in Oakland in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in response to the police violence of the civil rights era. The group’s core work initially was forming armed patrols of uniformed citizens who would monitor Oakland police activity. By 1969, it had expanded its focus and created social programs like community clinics, food giveaways and schools.

The Panthers wore a dress uniform of black pants, a powder-blue button-up shirt, black leather jacket and black military beret, which has become one of the aesthetic signatures of the party, along with the well-known feline logo. But some are quick to point out that the outfit was mostly a means to an end.

“We were truly promoting revolution,” says former Black Panther Party Chairwoman Elaine Brown, who led the party from 1974 to 1977. “We had everything from free food to free education and were armed for self-defense. We didn’t concern ourselves with iconography or the look except when it moved the agenda.”

Still, the Panthers’ distinctive look was not accidental.

“As far as the creation of the iconic uniform, Bobby Seale was very conscious,” says René de Guzman, senior curator of art at the Oakland Museum of California. In 2017, de Guzman curated “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50,” one of the most-attended exhibitions in the museum’s history. “He had a military background. The symbolism was that the Panthers weren’t a mob, they were organized. The show of militancy through clothing showed the organization; Bobby was very specific.”

Wearing the uniform was reserved for patrols and public events like rallies and marches, de Guzman says. Brown points out that it wasn’t only men in the party who wore the look.

“All of us wore that uniform; we’re there at the rallies,” Brown says of female Panthers. “For events beyond the rallies, too, you see women in many of the same outfits sometimes worn with skirts. If (the perception is) that the uniform was worn mostly by men, it’s because there were more men than women.”

"Here’s the thing: All white people are not actively racist but all white people live in a culture of white supremacy and their actions potentially help to uphold that culture. Taking up space to talk about how non-racist you are upholds white supremacist culture and centers whiteness. Placing your offense, your hurt feelings, before the discussion of the racist issues centers whiteness and upholds white supremacist culture. These acts stifle discussion, silence education and uphold white supremacist culture."

"Here’s the thing: All white people are not actively racist but all white people live in a culture of white supremacy and their actions potentially help to uphold that culture. Taking up space to talk about how non-racist you are upholds white supremacist culture and centers whiteness. Placing your offense, your hurt feelings, before the discussion of the racist issues centers whiteness and upholds white supremacist culture. These acts stifle discussion, silence education and uphold white supremacist culture."

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I was expecting something much more subtle, much more passive, much less egregious.

Back on the tail end of 2016 I wrote a status update on Facebook which read something to the effect of, “When POC speak on genocide they are talking about subjugation and murder. When white people talk about genocide they are talking about mixed babies.” This is, of course, a reference to the idea of “white genocide” as discussed in white nationalist circles. My white friends — who are not white nationalists — were pissed.

The thread turned into 200+ comments deep of mostly white people defending that they don’t mean that when they talk about white genocide, that the status was offensive — but what about my individual marginalization? Even though I stressed that I was speaking about white nationalists, all of these people could not get over how offended they were and spent all night literally #notallwhitepeople-ing on my page. And this is the story about why I never wrote about “white genocide” or how the offense of “good white people” helps to silence the voices of marginalized POC.

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I honestly had to stop reading at the end of the first paragraph. This happened in 2016?

Was this really a thing? Was there a significant number of "regular" totally Not Racist white folks who thought white genocide was a legitimate thing?

I've never known the term as anything other than a hilariously ridiculous delusion. I didn't know any non-Nazi types who took it seriously.

This was not what I was expecting. The reaction by her white friends was so stupid I had a hard time finishing the article, I just couldn't get over it. She may want to reconsider if these people are actually her friends and whether or not they are actually gigantic racist idiots.

When I went to a vigil after Charlottesville, there were several speakers on the subject of white supremacy and how white people can be better allies to POC. (The crowd was pretty diverse.). One point that was made was that white people need to STFU when POC are discussing their experiences. Instead of us telling them how we think we can help, we need to listen (and not interrupt) while they tell us how we can actually help. That has resonated with me.

But yeah, I take issue with anyone who claims to be Not Racist but is still “concerned” with his or her race mixing with other races.

If talking about white supremacy makes you defensive, the problem is not the people talking about it.

That is an excellent article and something I've tried to take to heart. I know in the past I've been guilty of trying to take a larger role in conversations where I really should have just shut up and listened.

I feel as though as a white man I am more inclined to listen to people of color and their life experiences when we define concepts like white privilege and white supremacy because although I try to have the best intentions I can't ever really have the full picture because it has benefitted me.

That's a terrible thing. She's not only racist but making it much harder for rape victims to come forward. I wish I could say that story surprised me but we had something similar happen years ago in my area. The police even did a sketch(the 'rapist' looked exactly like Saddam Hussein).

There are all sorts of issues surrounding me talking out of my privilege. I am Native American, so it's not exactly white privilege when I talk about racism against black people, but it could be argued that, because the type of racism faced by black Americans is very different from the racism faced by Native people (and I can parse some of that for you if you really want), that I'm kind of talking out of "non-black" privilege. And of course I'm talking from a position of privilege when I talk about feminism and all that. I mean, problem is that I just like to talk about everything basically. I also like to listen to people in different situations or with different viewpoints than mine, so hopefully that helps. But I try to keep an attitude of humility in just about any subject, no matter how right I think I am.

But a lot of the issue of people talking from a position of privilege isn't really an issue of privilege, but of ignorance, at least to some degree. I mean, for example, a white guy making offensive comments about black people and racism; the issue isn't even really the privilege - it's just the ignorance. I mean, if white people are upset when black people try to correct them in their opinions or want them to stop talking about an issue (or apply this to men and women also), then there's a simple solution: get informed and stop saying ignorant things. I think it's perfectly fine, for example, for a white person to talk about the racism faced by Native American people in America right now, provided they know what they're talking about. I only have an issue with their "privilege" when they're acting in bad faith or speaking out of ignorance. But what we've learned is that privilege and ignorance go hand in hand, privilege creating and enabling ignorance. But if people bristle when you tell them they have "privilege," I expect they would absolutely lose their **** if you tried to tell them they were "ignorant," even though the word really has no inherent value judgment.

But, I do have to agree that the idea that someone is not a white supremacist and also thinks white genocide is happening in America is . . . well, not correct. Those people arguing with the author of that article about how white genocide is actually a real thing . . . those people were ******* white supremacists. They just were. Saying that they weren't tars non-supremacists with a pretty bad brush, ie. "Even white people who aren't white supremacists think white genocide is real!"